


Gone

by Yadirocks



Series: To Play Like a Cardinal [3]
Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The offseason has been a rough one for Molina. Having to say goodbye to two of his best friends and maybe even an Opening Day start, his world seems to be collapsing around him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gone

The worst month of Yadier's entire career started with a single phone call. He had been at one of his son, Yanuell's, coach pitch games in Puerto Rico. For once, he had been able to go to Yanu's games and cheer him on, and his heart swelled with pride with every play his son made. 

Yadier was filming Yanuell batting for the third time of the evening when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He frowned, pausing his video camera and checking the caller ID. Wanda glanced up at him from her seat on the bleachers. "Who is it?"

Strange enough, it was Tony Cruz. Yadier hadn't talked to Tony since that last week in October, when they had gotten together for one last meal before they parted ways, agreeing to meet up again. It was one of those empty promises, one that both of them knew they probably wouldn't fulfill, but it made both of their hearts feel at ease. They would see each other again, be it for dinner or for pitchers and catchers report.

"I need to take this. Will you hold this for me?" he asked, handing Wanda the video camera. He stepped down from the steel seats and answered the call. "Hey, Wolf, what's up?"

The silence on the other end made Yadier's heart sink. Something was wrong. Especially when he could hear Tony breathe in deeply, shakily. "You didn't hear?"

"Hear what? Did something happen? Do I need to come back to St. Louis?"

"No, it's...it's just that...I'm a Royal now."

Tony sounded as shocked as Yadier felt. The silence between them was a long one. Yadier felt tears fill his eyes. Normally, he wouldn't cry over a teammate getting traded. He was friends with every former and current Cardinals player, for sure, but teammates come and go. But Tony...Tony was different. Tony was his best friend. He had spent the last few years mentoring Tony, teaching him his ways and also taking some of Tony's style and applying it to his.

Not only that, but Cruz had been the only one to call him and ask if he was doing okay when Yadier had gotten hurt or was just having a rough few weeks. Tony cared about him, and Yadi cared about Tony, and it felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

"This doesn't change anything, Tony," he tried, hoping Cruz could tell that he didn't want this friendship to expire with Tony's time with the Cardinals. Tony was like another brother to him. That wasn't going to go to waste.

Tony laughed half-heartedly on the other end. "I know that," he said, though his tone was doubtful. "I just thought you should know. I didn't know if Mo had told you or if you had heard about it, but..."

He trailed off. Yadier managed to smile, even though Tony couldn't see it. "Thanks, Wolf. Kansas City isn't too far from St. Louis. Keep in touch, Tony."

"I will." 

Even as Tony was hanging up, Yadier wondered if that, too, was an empty promise.

\--------------------------

It was a week later when Yadier received another phone call, this time from Adam. Yadier breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn't Mo or Mike calling to tell him someone got traded. Yadier didn't think he could bear hearing the word 'trade' again. "Hey, Waino," Yadier greeted.

"What's up, Yadi?"

"Eh, not much, just preparing for spring. You?"

Adam snorted. "Dealing with the little rascals, as usual. I called because I heard about Jon and Tony and I wanted to check to see if you were okay. I know you three were very close."

Yadier froze. "Jon?"

Adam went silent. Then, he said, "Yeah, Jon. He got traded to the Padres for Jedd Gyorko yesterday. I thought you knew...?"

Yadier felt his heart break in two. Jon and Tony were his two closest friends. They couldn't both be gone. Yadier couldn't be the only one left. Yadier sunk to his knees. "Yadi? Are you there?"

Swallowing hard, he whispered, "How could they do this?"

Silence. Then, "I don't know. It's business, Yadi."

"It's not business to me!" Yadier snapped. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Waino. It's just been a...a really long week."

"You sound tired. I didn't mean to upset you, Yadier. You know I would never do something like that on purpose. Are you going to be alright?"

Yadier managed to stand up again. "Yeah," he said. It was a lie. "I'm just...tired. My thumb hasn't exactly been helping, either. I guess it hasn't healed all the way yet."

Another pause. "Yadi, that surgery was nearly three months ago. Don't you think it should be healed by now? I mean, in 2014, you recovered after only 7 weeks. This is nearly 9. Maybe you should see Mo or Mike about that, just to be safe."

Before Adam could make him even more worried, he said, "Yeah, I'll do that. Bye, Waino, see you in March."

He hung up before Adam could even get out a, "But-"

\----------------------

It was Yadier's monthly checkup for his thumb. Mozeliak had demanded that he do this, not wanting to take any risks on losing his prized catcher for longer than he had to. Yadier felt awkward as he sat in the waiting room with Mozeliak and Mike. More so because Mo was there than Mike. Mozeliak and Yadier had never been really close. Mike and Yadier at least shared the bond of coach/player. 

Yadier exhaled when the doctor returned with the results, glad for the creeping silence to be broken. "Mr. Molina, I'm afraid we have some bad news."

Yadier suddenly wished he could go back to the awful silence. Anything but bad news. He couldn't take anymore bad news. He had lost his two closest friends in the last two weeks. When would he receive some good news for once?

"The surgery on your thumb was not successful the first time. We will have to do another procedure tomorrow."

Yadier felt the sting of the words like a slap to the face. "Another?" he whispered, his voice quivering. Not this again. He couldn't cry. Not in front of his manager and his GM. He needed to man up.

Instead of doing so, his shoulders continued to sag. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he felt an arm wind around his shoulders. He looked up to find Mike looking at the doctor as Mozeliak spoke, but his hand rested comfortingly on Yadier's shoulder. 

"How long will the recovery take?"

"Well, if we do the surgery as soon as possible, he may be back in time for Opening Day. That isn't guaranteed. He will definitely miss most of Spring Training."

Mozeliak stood angrily. "Why didn't it work the first time? I want the surgeon who worked on his thumb to be fire this instant!" he demanded.

The doctor rubbed his face tiredly. "I am afraid that is not within my abilities," he replied coldly, and then walked away, clipboard held tightly to his side.

Yadier stared down at his hands, feeling miserable. He felt a hand on his knee, and he made himself look Mozeliak in the eyes. "I don't want you to worry anymore, okay?" Mozeliak said. "I want you to focus on getting better and getting healthy. That is what I want your main concern to be when it comes to helping this team. You will be no help to us if you do not rest or follow doctor's orders."

Yadier nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Am I next, Mo?" he asked, almost unable to get the question out. Mozeliak frowned. "Next for what?" he inquired.

"To be traded," Yadier answered, looking away. Silence. Mike squeezed his shoulder, and Mozeliak laughed. "Traded? You? Why, Yadier, you're everything a manager could ask for. No, you are not going to be traded. Not now, not ever. You can take that thought right out of your mind and throw it away, because it is a useless worry," Mo said, and then pulled Yadier into an embrace.

"I had to do what was best for the team, Yadi. I know that you, Tony, and Jon were very close. I hate that we had to send them away, but we didn't have a choice. It was either trade them or risk forfeiting a few games for not having a middle infielder if Kolten gets hurt."

Yadier nodded with a sniff. "I understand, Mo," he mumbled. Mozeliak smiled at him. "Don't worry. You're not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I want you to stay in the hospital after your surgery tomorrow so that you can rest some."

As Mozeliak went to make plans for the surgery, Mike hugged Yadier and said, "All things happen for a reason."

Maybe, Mike had a point. Maybe this month was the worst so that the next could be the best. Yadier hoped that against all hope, wanting to believe that things couldn't possibly get any worse, so they had to get better. If only he had a crystal ball and could predict what the outcome of the offseason would be for him.

Unfortunately, Yadier Molina was just a catcher. For the time being, he was completely fine with that.


End file.
